D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 27,058 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 86,157 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,058 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 1,180.4% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank raised its stake in Schlumberger by 745.5% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 744 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 823 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.72.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 157,428 shares of company stock valued at $7,613,612. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $46.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.19 and its 200 day moving average is $50.90. The company has a market capitalization of $66.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.64. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $42.73 and a one year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.54%.

About Schlumberger

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.